Bulk venders, colloquially known as “gum ball machines”, are widely used for dispensing confectioneries and other small articles of merchandise. A typical bulk vender has a hopper assembly comprising a transparent globe which functions as a merchandise storage bin, seated over a dispensing wheel that revolves in a hopper. A patron deposits the required coinage into the coin mechanism and turns the handle, which rotates the dispensing wheel to convey a preset amount of merchandise to the dispensing chute. The hopper assembly is located over a body which is mounted on a base, defining a secure compartment containing a cash box into which the coin mechanism ejects the deposited coins. Bulk vendors of this type are well known to those skilled in the art.
Bulk venders are designed for use in unsupervised public areas, and as such must be resistant to tampering, theft and vandalism by patrons. Frequently bulk vendors are assembled into an “island” formation, in which a plurality of venders are mounted to a common stand, allowing for a variety of merchandise to be dispensed from the same location while providing an organized and aesthetically pleasing vending area. However, vending machine islands can be particularly vulnerable to vandalism and theft. Sometimes an individual will try to damage a vender or remove a vender from the island by wresting the vender, to bend or break the mounting plate to which the vender is bolted.
This presents a problem, because the vender is mounted to the stand solely at the vendor's base, which is typically bolted to the mounting plate. The mounting plate is in turn welded or otherwise affixed to a standard such as a post or pipe. Thus, an individual grasping the globe of the vender has substantial leverage, and can apply a significant amount of torque against the mounting plate and the standard itself. Even where the mounting plate is formed from relatively thick steel plate, a single individual availing himself of the mechanical advantage provided by the height of the bulk vender can significantly deform the stand, or even tear the mounting plate completely from the stand and abscond with the bulk vender. This can have considerable cost consequences to the vending machine operator, in the value of both the lost vender and the lost proceeds from the sale of merchandise.